The Truth Behind It All
by Kpopaddiction32
Summary: What really happened that day in the woods where Katniss and Gale saw the red haired girl? Find out the story of the girl with no name and the mysterious boy that ran away with her. What could she have done that was so bad that she was labeled as an Avox, traitor to The Capitol!


The Truth Behind It All

Dedicated to:

My good friend Erika for her help in this story.

A/N: This is my first time ever posting a fanfic that I have written. I'm sorry in advance for my inexperience and any terrible writing you might encounter. I'm open to all feedback, bad or good so feel free to leave any reviews you see fit. Thank you and I hope you enjoy.

I wake up to the sound of my heart pounding against my chest. I can't breathe, I feel like I'm being suffocated by the air around me. This isn't how I normally wake up after a nightmare, but this one has to be the worst I've experienced since running away from The Capitol with Caleb. I look down, to the spot under the arms of the tree, next to me is Caleb sleeping peacefully on the ground, a look of serenity on his face. "Ahhh, how I wish I could sleep like that," I say out loud to no one in particular.

You are probably wondering who Caleb and I are. I'm Karina and Caleb is my younger brother. We are traitors to The Capitol. Caleb and I have been on the run for 3 days now, but we've managed to keep ourselves hidden in the lush forests of Panem. Sitting here in the forest next to Caleb makes me remember that terrible nightmare that marked our lives as criminals.

 _**** Flashback ****_

 _As I was walking home from school with Caleb, I saw smoke coming from the side of our street. It was a pretty normal sight in The Capitol though, since setting houses on fire was used as punishment for the families of people suspected of being traitors. I didn't give it much thought until we reached the place the smoke was escaping from. My heart stopped in my chest when I realized the house on fire was ours. Time seemed to be going in slow motion as I turned to see Caleb on his knees, crying his eyes out and screaming for our parents. He tried to run towards the burning house, but I held him back. I couldn't lose Caleb too, he was all I had._

" _Caleb we have to go right now," I yelled but he wouldn't budge._

" _Please we can't stay here, they will find us, we need to run!" I pleaded him._

 _After what had seemed like forever, he finally gave in, my hands grabbing a hold of his wrist. Though he was limping, I managed to drag him away from the horrible site. The only thing running through my mind was "Our parents are dead and it is all my fault." I caused their death and the destruction of the home we grew up in, but I didn't have it in me to tell Caleb. The second he finds out he will despise the ground I walk on._

 _While dragging Caleb with me, I make sure that we take all of the dark, black streets in The Capitol to ensure no one notices us. By now, they probably have announced us as traitors to The Capitol and that can only mean one thing, death. After sneaking around for an hour we finally reach an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. No one ever comes here except for me. This secret place has become a safe haven for those who have chosen to go down a similar path including myself ._

" _What is this place?" Caleb asked, finally calmed down enough to actually talk._

" _It's an old warehouse that's been long abandoned, we are safe here for now."_

" _I don't get it, why are we being punished? Why would they ever suspect one of as traitors?"_

 _I keep my face neutral, I can't tell him the truth yet. Not until I know that we are somewhere safe, a place The Capitol will never find us._

" _I don't know Caleb, but we can't stay here anymore we need to leave before they find us," I said nonchalantly._

" _HOW CAN YOU BE SO FUCKING CALM?! OUR PARENTS JUST DIED AND WE ARE BEING HUNTED DOWN! DON'T YOU FEEL ANYTHING?!" Caleb yelled, letting all of his emotions out._

" _OF COURSE I FEEL SOMETHING!" I yelled back. "They were my parents too, but they are gone now and we can't do anything about it," I said more calmly this time. "We have to say strong and stick together if we are going to make it out of here."_

 _Caleb falls silent after that, finding a small corner to crawl into and cry. I don't blame him for being pissed off at me, but one of us has to stay strong if we are going to escape out of here alive. Especially, since I know that I'm the cause of all of this, it is my fault and I have to fix it. Neither of us said anything after that, leaving the air filled with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. We fell asleep on the floor shortly after, until we woke up at the sound of a hovercraft coming towards us._

" _Caleb get up right now! Let's go, they are coming. COME ON!" I yelled until he finally got up and followed me out the back entrance that led us straight into the forest. We managed to hide ourselves until the hovercraft left._

**** Present ****

Every time I remember that horrible nightmare, I feel like knives are stabbing me in the heart. All the guilt is weighing down on me and every time Caleb cries himself to sleep at night, I feel a piece of me shatter. The thing that makes this nightmare a million times worse, is that it's real. All of that just took place 3 days ago but it is a constant reminder of what I caused. I haven't even worked up the courage to tell Caleb the truth behind us becoming traitors. It's eating me up inside because he keeps wondering about the reason for all of this. I don't think I can keep it hidden from him for long.

"Ugh ah," Caleb groans next to me, while waking up.

"What time is it?" he asks.

"It's still pretty early in the morning," I say.

"Did you get any sleep at all last night?" he asks me.

"I managed to get a few hours of sleep, I'll be fine."

Then I tell him, "If you are not going to sleep anymore, then we need to get going."

"We need to gather up some berries to eat before we keep moving."

Caleb just shrugs and gets on his feet before we go to find something to eat. I'm pretty good with deciphering between which are poisonous and which are edible. All those hours of learning survival skills in the woods behind that old warehouse finally came in handy. I would go there every day for hours and train with the rest. However, I would always have to lie about where I was going whenever anyone asked. You see, I was part of the rebellion to take down The Capitol, just like District 13 did so many years ago. I guess they finally figured out what we were doing and this is the punishment. I can't help but resent myself for what happened. If I had never decided to join in the rebellion, our parents would still be alive and we would be home enjoying ourselves.

I regret what I did and the affect it had, but I hate The Capitol and everything they stand for. Even if I have the privilege of not being thrown into an arena and getting killed, what they do to those districts is disgusting. Some are starving, living in poverty, but they still have to take part in the Hunger Games because of something that happened decades ago. It's unreasonable how they are treated, while the people in The Capitol never have to worry about a thing. All I wanted was to make a difference, then maybe Panem would finally become a favorable place to live.

Caleb breaks me out of my thoughts when he starts complaining about how his feet hurt.

"My feet are killing me, we've been walking for hours. Where are we going anyway?" He whines.

"I don't know yet, but we have to get as far away as possible from The Capitol."

"Ugh, can't we just take a short break? I don't think they will find us if we stop for a few minutes," he argues.

"Fine, but we can't stop for long."

We sit down on the ground and look up at the sky, enjoying the temporary serenity we have. It's the first time since the fire, that we actually find a sense of calm between us. I envy Caleb, he's so young, only 12 years old, so unaffected by the cruel ways of the world. He's managed to stay naive towards all the horrible things that The Capitol does and not question a thing. Even though I'm only 17, I've seen things, that I wish I could unsee. That's what made me want to join the rebellion in the first place, I wanted to change things, prevent the death of so many people that are treated as mere entertainment by the citizens of The Capitol.

All of a sudden, Caleb goes on again for the millionth time about what he thinks caused all of this.

"It doesn't make sense, we have always behaved by The Capitol's rules and stuck to ourselves. Maybe they made a mistake and this all a giant misunderstanding," he rants.

That's all I can take. I've had enough, the guilt has been building up and I just couldn't hold it back anymore.

"ENOUGH CALEB, It's my fault. I caused our parent's death! I'm the traitor to The Capitol. I was part of the rebellion. I can't take the guilt anymore!" I yelled, everything just pouring out of me in that one moment.

"NO! You were the one person I fucking trusted! How could you do this to our family? You selfish bitch, couldn't you think about what would happen to us if you joined the rebellion? I will never forgive you for this, I hate you from the bottom of my heart. I HAVE NO SISTER!" he yelled, tears streaming down his face as he ran away into the forest.

I wanted to run after him, but Caleb's words were on repeat in my head, holding me in my spot. I broke down and fell to my knees. I can't even breath, I was choking on my own tears and guilt.

That's when I heard that familiar sound, the hovercraft. I took off running into the thick forest and slammed into Caleb out of nowhere. I grabbed him by the wrist before he could have time to protest and ran as fast as I could. The hovercraft was moving faster than before and I knew we weren't going to escape unless someone or something saved us. We ran into this huge open landing and that's when I saw them on the edge of a huge rock, watching us. A girl with long braided brown hair holding a bow and arrow and a tall handsome boy with beautiful black hair standing right next to her. I yelled as loud as I could for them to help us, fear written all over my face, but they seemed to frozen in place by shock and the overwhelming loud sound of the hovercraft. I could feel Caleb shaking next to me from the fear of being taken.

It all happened so quickly, a giant spear came flying down from the hovercraft and it shot right through Caleb, hitting right in the heart. We were standing so close to each other that I heard bone crack as it pierced right through him. Then came down a giant net that pulled me up into the hovercraft, right along Caleb's limb bleeding body. The blood just kept flowing out of him like it was endless. I was in such shock, screaming out his name, over and over again.

"NO! Caleb, Caleb! Kill me instead!" I yelled with everything I had in me, but it was all muted by the sound of the hovercraft.

As soon as I was pulled into the hovercraft, they took me away in chains into this pitch black room. I knew what would come next, it's the same thing that they have told us over and over again in those endless lessons about the punishment for the people that helped the rebellion taken place decades ago. It doesn't take too long before the sounds of footsteps begin echoing in my ear. My heart drops to the pit of my stomach. Squinting my eyes, I try to make out what is happening, but the room is so dark I am questioning if I really am alive. I must be though because the next thing I know I'm being stung by sharp, thick blades all over my body. I can't see my blood, but I already know it's there. I scream, trying to escape the chains that are holding me hostage, but the more I try, the more the chains tighten around me and I feel my skin being lit on fire. The chains are poisonous and it's almost like being burned alive with acid. However, the only difference is that I'm not dying anytime soon. No, The Capitol has made it quite clear that this is just the beginning for a former Rebel.

I scream and scream for help, even apologizing for my actions when Caleb comes to mind, and I know I deserve it. My eyes that have been shut this whole time, fly open. I'm coughing out blood, my voice is so raspy, it's a matter of seconds before I realize I have lost it.

" _Karina"_

I look around, almost snapping my neck in the process. A voice. I just heard a voice saying my name. I'm not going crazy, I refuse to drop so low.

" _Karina."_ There it is again.

"W-Who's there?!" I barely manage to whisper out. The voice then repeats my name again but before I can ask who it is, my face is being held tightly, my cheeks being squeezed hard as if the person is trying to rip my skin off.

" _Karina."_ My face is pulled up and there in front of me stand the ghostly figures of my deceased parents. Shock crashes into me, goosebumps beginning to erupt throughout my entire body. No, this can't be happening.

"No!" I scream, "You're dead. You all are!"

My mom begins to cry as soon as the words leave my mouth. My father is trying to comfort her, his back facing me. Suddenly, Caleb jumps in front of them with a huge hole in the middle of his chest as he's looking straight at me. I try to reach out to touch him, and see if he is real but then screams begin to fill the air and the room is suddenly surrounded with flames. My parents are screaming out in pain. Their skin is melting off, thousands and thousands of scars and flesh falling off.

"You killed us!" they all start to chant around me. I scream, shutting my eyes, but I can still feel them digging their fingers deep into my head, pulling my hair roughly, and scratching my face.

"You killed us!" the voices get louder and louder by the minute.

"Stop!" I choke out, "I'm sorry! Forgive me! Please..."

"You killed us" they repeat again. The demonic chants almost make me go deaf. I open my eyes and when I do, they're eating and biting their own flesh off. They're trying to force it down my mouth too, but I keep my mouth tightly shut.

"Leave me alone!"

I'm crying blood now. My vision is red. Suddenly I break free from the chains and my family disappears, but their voices are still there haunting me. I stagger side to side, bringing my hands up to my hair, taking a fist of it as I try to shut them out. I'm pulling, scratching and biting myself, and I know I have lost it. My head is crashing hard against a wall, I can almost hear my skull crack. I continue clawing at myself and screaming. I can't stop. It's as if I'm no longer in control of my actions.

Out of nowhere, Caleb appears making my heart stop for a good five minutes as I drop to the floor, quickly crawling away from him in fear. However, he grabs my chin swiftly and cracks open my mouth. His small hands soon take ahold of my tongue before ripping it out. I fall to the cold ground, knocking out immediately from the blood loss. In my hand lays my tongue, still vibrating and oozing out blood. It is only then, that I realize how President Snow had tricked me into cutting my own tongue off.

When I wake up again, I look down and discover that I'm covered in bandages from head to toe. It takes me a couple of minutes to realize that I'm not in that same pitch black room anymore. I'm in a small room with plain white walls, and there is only one bed and closet in the room. That's when I realize that I've heard of this place before. This is the training center for Avoxes, where they teach them to serve the citizens of The Capitol. They basically train them to be slaves and to obey any command they receive no matter what. I stare at the white ceiling, thinking this is the life I'm now stuck with and I can't even bring myself to be upset because I know that I brought all of this down on myself. I knew better, but I still chose to risk my family's lives for it and they paid the price for my mistake.

I hear knocking at the door of the room and a voice says, "Get dressed and report to your first day of training, Avox." I knew right there and then that "Karina" was gone. I was merely an Avox now with no other name in the eyes of The Capitol.

*3 Months Later*

Today is the 74th Reaping for the annual Hunger Games in all the Districts. The Avoxes are required to serve the Tributes that will be traveling to The Capitol today. I have been learning to adjust these last couple of months to my new life and not being able to talk, but the pain of what happened to my family is still there. I can't help thinking about them as I am getting ready to take out the food to the Tributes. As soon as I enter the room and see the people at the table, my heart stops and I can't breathe. It's the girl that was in the forest from that horrible day. She is from District 12, they said her name was Katniss Everdeen. Katniss still has her hair in the same braid from that day and I feel a strong feeling of hatred towards her. When I go to serve her next. She looks at me for a minute and says, "I know you." My eyes go wide in horror, she could be killed for knowing an Avox. I put her food down and scurry off before I am punished for her words.

I go inside the kitchen and sit down next to the rest of the Avoxes. I start thinking about that time when I saw her and was yelling out for her help, but she didn't even budge. I want to hate her for not doing anything to help, but I know that it's not her fault. Katniss wouldn't have been able to save us anyway, it was too late by then. I actually feel bad for her, she has to go fight to the death in a treacherous arena to survive. Even though I want to hate her, I can't bring myself to do it. I actually want her to win because no one deserves to die in such a horrible way just for people's entertainment.

As I'm about to go out again and collect their dishes, I hear something that makes me snap my head back quickly.

"Karina" there goes that voice again. That's when I realize there is a familiar figure standing there in the shadow of the doorway. However, this time I'm not hallucinating.


End file.
